Archive for the '2010' Tag Under 'Lakers' Category

The folks who schedule the Lakers' travel plans must never drive to Ontario. Otherwise, they would account for Friday traffic heading into San Bernardino County.

For a second time in as many preseasons, the Lakers arrived late to Citizens Bank Arena for their pregame rituals of stretching out, taping and warming up. On Friday, they showed up 15 minutes later than scheduled; a year ago, they were nearly an hour late because of two Sigalerts and a brush fire off the 57 and 60 freeways.

Phil Jackson will miss his second exhibition game Friday because of flu-like symptoms, fininshing out the preseason at his Marina del Ray home. Assistant Brian Shaw again will fill in.

Jackson did not travel Thursday to San Diego, where the Lakers, in Shaw's coaching debut, defeated the Golden State Warriors, 120-99. The Lakers play the Warriors again in their exhibition finale at Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

Lamar Odom made the trip but decided to sit out Friday's game because of stiffness in his back and a sore nose. He was hit in the nose Thursday, leaving the court briefly to stop the bleeding.

Kobe Byrant, however, who rested his surgically repaired right knee Thursday, is "expected to play" in the second of the back-to-back games.

Brian Shaw, filling in for ailing Phil Jackson, called only one timeout in his coaching debut in San Diego.

It wasn't that Shaw wanted to see the Lakers and Golden State Warriors run up and down the court or that he thought the game was going smoothly. He had an ulterior motive.

"You see in the locker room how hot it is and how much it smells and you want to get out of here as quick as possible," he said. "So I only called one timeout because I wanted the game to go by fast."

The Lakers played Thursday's exhibition in the antiquated San Diego Sports Arena, which seemingly hasn't undergone many upgrades since the Clippers left. The locker rooms are tiny, hot and in this case, smelled like rotten eggs.

Pau Gasol scored 23 points, Steve Blake added 18 and Lamar Odom had 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors, 120-99, in exhibition play to give assistant Brian Shaw his first victory as a head coach.

Shaw filled in for Phil Jackson, who stayed home because he was experiencing flu-like symptons. It was unknown whether Jackson would be back for Friday's exhibition finale in Ontario.

The game marked the return of Sasha Vujacic, who started in place of Kobe Bryant. Vujacic missed three games after suffering a concussion in a run-in with Odom. He finished nine points in 15 minutes at the San Diego Sports Arena.

Luke Walton (hamstring) also returned to the court, playing 10 minutes. He scored five points, grabbed a rebound and handed out two assists in his season debut.

Luke Walton couldn't talk before the Lakers' preseason game Thursday because he was too busy counting tickets. Finally, after stuffing 46 tickets into a small envelope, Walton talked about having 50 family and friends come to the San Diego Sports Arena to see him play his first game.

Walton, who spent the off-season rehabbing his lower back, has been sidelined since the start of training camp because of a strained right hamstring.

"I have a ton of family down here," said Walton, who was born and raised in San Diego. "Aunts, uncles, Mom, Grandma, brothers, friends – it adds up quickly. And now my friends are starting to have kids and they all want to come to the games, and it's only going to get worse in a few years."

Johnson and Naymick were signed for training camp and were not expected to make the roster. Johnson, a 6-foot-6 guard frm Jackson State, appeared in five exhibition games and averaged 2.8 points and 1.2 assists, while Naymick, a 6-foot-10 center out of Michigan State, played in two preseason games, pulling down two rebounds in 16 minutes of action.

Lakers fans who watch games via DISH Network were left in the dark Saturday because of an ongoing battle over price hikes between Fox and the satellite carrier.

The Lakers' home exhibition game against Denver was televised as usual by Fox Sports West, but DISH Network customers had the game blacked out . All Lakers' home games are broadcast on FSN, while road games are carried on KCAL/9.

Lakers rookie Devin Ebanks figures the last time he played the guard position was in high school, which really isn't all that long ago. He graduated from St. Thomas More (Conn.) High School in 2008.

So when Phil Jackson put Ebanks at the No. 2 spot in Saturday's exhibition (in place of ailing Sasha Vujacic), it shouldn't have been all that foriegn to the young player.

"As far as myself, I know the spots on the floor, so it shouldn't be that hard," Ebanks said.

Jackson said trying Ebanks at shooting guard is a positive move for everyone involved. The Lakers are stacked at the small foward position with Ron Artest, Matt Barnes and Luke Walton, and Jackson would like to alleviate the log jam. Playing guard also gives Ebanks a chance at more playing time, espcially with Vujacic sidelined because of a concussion.

"He's played well enough (in training camp) to see that he has some skills, talent and can get some things done," Jackson said. "...If he can help us out, that would be good. He's got a good chance. It takes a lot of moixe to chase screens and understand the parameters of the defense... It's a big step for a young guy like that."

With Kobe Bryant playing only six minutes and Pau Gasol and Ron Artest getting limited touches the Lakers dropped their exhibition opener to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 111-92, disappointing the soldout crowd at London's O2 Arena.

Three times during the second half, the crowd chanted Bryant's name, but the Lakers' star didn't budge off the bench. He still is recovering from off-season knee surgery.

Now, it's onto Barcelona for the second of two exhibitions Thursday.

Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 17 points, while Shannon Brown (13 points) and Derek Fisher both finished in double figures.

Still, the trip is the NBA's attempt to further globalize the sport. So far though, the Lakers' arrival hasn't made much noise in England; they didn't get a mention in the local London papers -- not with Tiger Woods in town for the Ryder Cup.